GILAS Pilipinas interim coach Tim Cone and his charges hit the ground running in a closed-door training camp last Saturday at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna.
While Jordan and Thailand loom as the nationals’ most noteworthy foes in Group C of the Pool phase of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Cone thinks overwise– they can’t look past Bahrain.
“Bahrain is someone we really should consider, they’re a sleeper team right there,” Cone said on the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas website. “They’ve got a Spanish coach, they swept through the qualifiers, they beat Kazakhstan by 30 points, they beat Indonesia by 25.
“So, they’re a team to reckon with right now. We think they’re the sleeper,” he added.
Former PBA import Wayne Chism banners Bahrain, while former UCLA standout Tyler Lamb will spearhead Thailand, and reigning Governors’ Cup best import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson of TNT banners Jordan.
The top team from each of the four groups after the group stage will advance to the quarterfinals, while the Nos. 2 and squads play crossover knockout matches on Oct. 2 against their counterparts from another group.
The Last Eight is on Oct. 3, followed by the semifinals on Oct. 4, and the battle for the bronze and the gold medal on Oct. 6.
Naturalized players Justin Brownlee, Ange Kouame and Mo Tautuaa lead the 12-man Philippine five that also features World Cup holdovers Scottie Thompson, June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, and Roger Pogoy.
Completing the Gilas crew for the Asian Games are returning standouts Calvin Abueva and Terrence Romeo, newcomer Jason Perkins, Calvin Oftana and Chris Newsome, while Stanley Pringle will be the alternate.
Cone said they are working doubly hard in their quest to reach the Promised Land of the Asiad’s cage tourney– something the country has not done since 1962 in Jakarta.
“We don’t want to get bushwhacked in that first game,” he said. “So, we have to make sure we’re ready to go.”
The Philippines wound up fourth in 2002 in Busan, South Korea after absorbing a heart-rending loss to the Koreans on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Lee Sang-Min in the semis before falling to Kazakhstan in the bronze medal tiff.
That finish 21 years ago stands today as the country’s previous high.
Cone is calling the shots for the national team anew after guiding the Centennial Team to a bronze medal in the 1998 Asiad in Bangkok.
